‘”With Dru and Dan leaving, it leaves a lot of room,” Roy said. “You’ve got to be confident out there and you’ve got to make plays, trust in yourself and believe in yourself. As a player, you always want to get better and you always want to play more to move up.”‘

‘Pavel Kubina and Chad Kilger each scored to cut the Sabres’ lead in half, but it was Roy who scored with just over three minutes to play in the second to give Buffalo a three-goal lead once again. Roy scored the game’s final two goals, completing the hat trick, in the third.’

‘”We’re looking for him to play a lot bigger role,” said Ruff of Roy’s increased responsibility. “In the absence of Danny [Briere] and Chris [Drury], he’ll garner quite a bit of that five-on-three power play time. And he’ll have a larger penalty killing role. From that standpoint, we feel that his game will get better.”‘

‘Ryan Miller was solid in the nets making 20 stops for Buffalo. Toskala, on the other hand, was jeered by the Leafs’ crowd anytime he made a save, which wasn’t often. The Toronto netminder finished the game with 29 stops on 36 shots.’

‘But the tone of these three games — the Sabres’ final ones of training camp — will be different. Gone are the youngsters who had no shot of making the roster. All but a few of the 28 players left will be with the team on opening night, so these contests will be about finding line chemistry and solidifying the system before the New York Islanders visit for real Oct. 5.’

‘Quinn said he believed Lorentz remains at his summer home in Newfoundland, where he enjoys fishing after the season ends. Quinn added that Lorentz telephoned before the preseason games began to say he wouldn’t be there at the start. He called again Monday to say he was retiring because he had enough of the traveling after 43 years as a player and broadcaster.’

'This has been both the league's most imaginative team to watch and one of its most successful, at least partly because the braintrust of Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier embraced the "new" NHL that emerged from the lockout and had suitable personnel to deliver run-and-gun hockey.'

‘”Over the past 26 years, Jim provided expert analysis during our broadcasts and his knowledge of the play on the ice was second to none,” said Larry Quinn Managing Partner of the Buffalo Sabres. “We wish Jim all the best and know that as a former player and broadcaster, he will always be a part of the Sabres family.”‘

‘During the final three preseason games, the team will use three different former Sabres players as the color commentator during the radio broadcasts — Matthew Barnaby (Wednesday vs. Toronto), John Tucker (Friday at Pittsburgh) and Mike Robitaille (Saturday vs. Pittsburgh).’

‘”This was a tough decision to make,” said Lorentz. “But after 43 years of travel as a player and broadcaster, I based my decision on an unwillingness to tackle another long season and grueling travel schedule.”‘